


Sunshine Girl

by stellalucem



Category: Marriage Story (2019)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mutual Pining, My First Fanfic, Older Man/Younger Woman, Reader is a babysitter, Summer Vibes, romantic dancing to the radio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26640373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellalucem/pseuds/stellalucem
Summary: This year, watching Henry was your summer job.Watching Charlie was just a side advantage.
Relationships: Charlie Barber/Reader, Charlie Barber/You
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30





	Sunshine Girl

You’re the sunshine girl with the bright smile and the quick mouth. You’re the sunshine girl with the summery dresses that sway and spin as you chase Henry across the yard. You’re the sunshine girl who has a secret; you can’t get Charlie Barber out of your head.

…

You push open the white fence, hot from the effects of the summer sun reflecting off of it as heat blazes in the humid outdoor air. There’s a bright grin on your face as you shut it behind you with a sharp click, lowering yourself to Henry’s height in order to greet him with a hug.  
He’s Charlie’s kid, only eight years old, and you’ve been helping out as a babysitter for him all summer, with Charlie mostly preoccupied with his short film in the studios.  
“Hey, kiddo!” You grinned, pearly whites shining as you ruffled his hair and he smiled; the smile was missing many teeth, just like some other kids his age. It was adorable, you thought as he ran over to his sandbox. “Where’s Daddy?”  
“Inside,” Henry muttered, pushing his toy cars along the splintering edge of the wooden sandbox, painted with dark paint. Two of the toys - the blue and red Jeeps - were in a race. He always played with his cars. (Hint: the blue jeep always wins after five action-packed laps around the sandbox.)  
You picked at the hem of your dress, a sunny yellow with small daisies on it, each white with a red centre. The dress was light and comfortable, tight in the bodice. Placing your water bottle - to combat the heat - on the outdoor table, covered with a floral tablecloth, you told Henry that you would be right back. “Just wait, okay? I’ll be fast. You know how busy Daddy usually is.” Internally, you sighed at the truth of it. Even the kid knew.  
Your Converse sneakers clacked along the cobblestone as you tugged open the clear outside door, finding the pale white inner door to be already cracked open.  
“Charlie!” you called out into the house.  
“You’re already here?” He laughed, and you ran forward to the source of the noise after slipping your shoes off at your heels.  
Charlie was standing in the mirror of his bedroom, looping his brown belt through his jeans. His hair was voluminous, dark, and reached his shoulders, while his button-up - tucked into his jeans already - was a medium blue shade, tugged up to his elbows. The hint of a black undershirt peeled from his collar.  
You leaned up against the doorway with a smirk. “How’s Henry? Lots of pent-up energy during the weekend?”  
“You bet,” Charlie replied, moving to face you with a tight smile. “Quite the brat, actually,” he chuckled. “I’ll bet that he’s happy you’re here.”  
A giggle escaped your mouth before you could stop it. “Payment on Friday?” You indicated your purse, where you kept your wallet. This year, watching Henry was your summer job.  
Watching Charlie was just a side advantage.  
“As usual.” He nodded, but then smiled up at you. “I’ve got 30 until I have to go. Water?”  
You nodded, following him down the stairs and into the kitchen, plopping your purse down on the miserable-looking counter tops, greyish and green with marble at the same time. They were certainly… creative.  
You sipped the water sharply as he passed it to you, shutting the fridge after pouring out a glass for himself from the refrigerated pitcher of boiled water.  
“The short film is running into some issues,” Charlie blurted suddenly, and your eyes shot up. “We need an actress for the side character. She’s supposed to be young, attractive…” he muttered, looking aside at his drink.  
“I’d do it, Charlie.” You practically grinned, perking up with excitement.  
“You’re not exactly an actress,” he chucked, downing his drink.  
You laughed back. “You can always teach me.” You nodded your head in the direction of the outside door, walking to the mudroom. “Henry’s waiting for me.” Slipping on your sneakers, black with clean, white laces, you threw open the doors to go outside, willing yourself to not turn back to look at him.  
You wanted him too much. You’d never be his. You knew it.  
The grass flattened beneath your footsteps as you made your way over to Henry.  
“Who won, Henry?” you asked, sitting down on the grass next to him, ponytail whirling in the breeze. It was humid inside, but, outside, you felt free in the fresh wind. It was where you belonged, out in the sunshine.  
“Blue,” he replied simply, pushing the red car along the side now. He looked up at you, and, in explanation, shared, “The red car’s driver is training for the next round.”  
“Smart thinking,” you whispered with a grin before pointing at another car in his stack to the side of his play area; it was a purple sports car with two thick white stripes running from the hood to the rear. “Can I play with you?”  
He nodded, and you picked up the small car, scooting over to drive it along the edge beside his red jeep.  
You dramatically gasped, imitating the sound effects of a car crash as you ran the purple car over the edge and onto the grass below, letting it flip over onto its side.  
Henry rushed to push his red Jeep over, gasping alone. He opened the small door of his car to pull out a miniscule figure of a cowboy, who went, jumping along, to aid the driver of the flipped over vehicle. “The cowboy says that she’s fine,” he reported with a smile.  
You pulled your own character out of your car, a slim female in a tight black dress, a grey racing helmet with a lightning bolt pulled over her head.  
Resisting a giggle, you replied in a southern accent, “Thank ya, partner!” You adjusted your doll to be next to his as you said in a higher, theatrical play-voice, “Let’s go to the beach!”  
“The beach” was the deep puddle in their backyard that had never quite seemed to go away. Henry had stuffed a plastic bag in to make it clean and there it was - a beach in the mind of a child.  
You were happy to play along as both yours and his characters moved to the beach, sitting down on the beach towels, which were, in reality, colourful napkins that Henry had mischievously stolen from the table, where a stack of them still remained, held down by the portable radio.  
It nearly made you jump when you heard Charlie’s voice from directly behind you, deep and mocking. “Having fun, kiddos?” You turned around with a scowl, face red, but he merely winked and ruffled the top of Henry’s hair. “Just playing, [Y/N].”  
“Help!” Henry called out your name, yelping. “The cowboy can’t find his Jeep!” He moved his character for him to jump on the grass urgently and comically. You could see the toy Jeep “hidden” behind the sandbox, but, before a word could escape your mouth, Charlie had lifted you up to your feet.  
“All dirty,” he tutted, brushing off your dress and letting his hands linger on your butt. You blushed, humiliated. “Just as bad as Henry.”  
“Oh, shut up, Charlie,” you hissed back, face illuminated in the light.  
He smirked playfully, moving over to the turquoise radio and flipping the switch up to FM, turning up the volume slowly. Before you knew what was happening, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper was blasting in the backyard, and you and Charlie were pulling each other into a dance.  
The moves were playful, with you swirling around as he held your hand lightly from above you like the professionals on television. You laughed lightly as he ticked your side, dress flowing in the breeze.  
In your head, Henry might as well be completely absent. It was just you and him.  
When your eyes met, everything seemed to slow down.  
Charlie’s eyes stared into yours, and yours stared into his, wrapping your arms around his neck as he moved his hands around your waist. In the background, you and him barely registered the song fading.  
You felt suddenly breathless as he leant in close to your ear, whispering, “My pretty little sunshine girl.”  
“Yours,” you echoed, as he pulled apart, waving to you and Henry with a smirk as he opened the fence, locking it behind him as you waved, half-paralyzed in shock by the situation.  
Standing at the corner, he looked over his shoulder at you.  
He smiled. Really, genuinely, smiled.  
Smiled like he wanted you.

…

You might not be able to have him.  
But you’re his sunshine girl.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments make my day, so please feel free to do either if you enjoy this story! I hope that you all loved it as much as I do :)


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